Preventive Efficacy of Dried Lime (Citrus aurantifulia) in Common Cold Among Hajj Pilgrims: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Abstract
Background: Dried lime (Citrus aurantifulia) is one of the herbal preparations used especially by Iranian pilgrims as a preventative agent and self-remedy for respiratory tracts symptoms in folklore medicine. Therefore, we evaluated the preventive efficacy of dried lime preparation in common cold among Iranian pilgrims. Materials and Methods: In this randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial patients in the drug group received dried lime capsules, 500 mg in a single dose per day for four weeks. In the placebo group, the patients received placebo capsules using the same method. The primary outcome measure in this trial was the severity of cold symptoms assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the trend of cold symptoms severity during the study period. However, in the second week, the severity of all the cold symptoms in the drug group was less, compared to the placebo, but at the end of the study, comparison of the two groups revealed no significant difference in any of the investigated options. Conclusion: The findings revealed that although the severity of all the cold symptoms in the drug group was less as compared to the placebo group, the dried lime capsule showed no statistically significant effect on the control of these symptoms in Iranian pilgrims. [GMJ.2020;9:e1462]References
Madani TA, Ghabrah TM, Albarrak AM, Alhazmi MA, Alazraqi TA, Althaqafi AO, et al. Causes of admission to intensive care units in the Hajj period of the Islamic year 1424 (2004). Annals of Saudi medicine. 2007;27(2):101-5.
https://doi.org/10.4103/0256-4947.51528
PMid:17356316 PMCid:PMC6077038
Ahmed QA, Arabi YM, Memish ZA. Health risks at the Hajj. The Lancet. 2006;367(9515):1008-15.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68429-8
Rashid H, Shafi S, Haworth E, El Bashir H, Memish ZA, Sudhanva M, et al. Viral respiratory infections at the Hajj: comparison between UK and Saudi pilgrims. Clinical microbiology and infection: the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2008;14(6):569-74.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2008.01987.x
PMid:18373688
Balkhy HH, Memish ZA, Bafaqeer S, Almuneef MA. Influenza a common viral infection among Hajj pilgrims: time for routine surveillance and vaccination. Journal of travel medicine. 2004;11(2):82-6.
https://doi.org/10.2310/7060.2004.17027
PMid:15109471
Shirazi MAK, Mohammadhadi M. Makhzan ol advieh. Intisharat va Amoozesh enghelab Islami Press, Tehran. 1992.
PMid:1738192 PMCid:PMC240853
Tonekaboni H. 1670/2007. Tohfat ol Momenin. Nashre Shahr Press: Tehran, Iran; 2007.
PMid:17690080
Aibinu I, Adenipekun T, Adelowotan T, Ogunsanya T, Odugbemi T. Evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of different parts of Citrus aurantifolia (lime fruit) as used locally. African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines: AJTCAM. 2006;4(2):185-90.
PMid:20162090
Onyeagba R, Ugbogu O, Okeke C, Iroakasi O. Studies on the antimicrobial effects of garlic (Allium sativum Linn), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and lime (Citrus aurantifolia Linn). African Journal of Biotechnology. 2004;3(10):552-4.
https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB2004.000-2108
Molavi Vardajani H, Haghdoost AA, Shahravan A, Rad M. Cleansing and preparation of data for statistical analysis: A step necessary in oral health sciences research. Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology. 2016;5(4):171-85.
Sina HA. Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb [The Canon of Medicine]. Beirut, Lebonan: Alaalami Library; 2005.
Razi MZ. Al-Havi Fi Al-Tibb (Arabic). Beirut: Dar Al Kotob Al-islmiyah; 2000.
Costa R, Bisignano C, Filocamo A, Grasso E, Occhiuto F, Spadaro F. Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle essential oil from Italian organic crops. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2014;26(6):400-8.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2014.964428
Choi HS, Song HS, Ukeda H, Sawamura M. Radical-scavenging activities of citrus essential oils and their components: detection using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. J Agric Food Chem. 2000;48(9):4156-61.
https://doi.org/10.1021/jf000227d
PMid:10995330
Memish Z. The Hajj: communicable and non-communicable health hazards and current guidance for pilgrims. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(39):19671.
PMid:20929658
Al-Abdallat MM, Rha B, Alqasrawi S, Payne DC, Iblan I, Binder AM, et al. Acute respiratory infections among returning Hajj pilgrims-Jordan, 2014. Journal of clinical virology: the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. 2017;89:34-7.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2017.01.010
PMid:28226273
Wang M, Barasheed O, Rashid H, Booy R, El Bashir H, Haworth E, et al. A cluster-randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of facemasks in preventing respiratory viral infection among Hajj pilgrims. Journal of epidemiology and global health. 2015;5(2):181-9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2014.08.002
PMid:25922328
Barasheed O, Almasri N, Badahdah AM, Heron L, Taylor J, McPhee K, et al. Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial to Test Effectiveness of Facemasks in Preventing Influenza-like Illness Transmission among Australian Hajj Pilgrims in 2011. Infectious disorders drug targets. 2014;14(2):110-6.
https://doi.org/10.2174/1871526514666141021112855
PMid:25336079
Wu T, Zhang J, Qiu Y, Xie L, Liu GJ. Chinese medicinal herbs for the common cold. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2007(1):Cd004782.
PMid:17253524
Wu T, Yang X, Zeng X, Poole P. Traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of acute respiratory tract infections. Respiratory medicine. 2008;102(8):1093-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2008.03.015
PMid:18590956
Li G, Cai L, Jiang H, Dong S, Fan T, Liu W, et al. Compound Formulas of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Common Cold: Systematic Review of Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trials. Alternative therapies in health and medicine. 2015;21(6):48-57.
PMid:26567449
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
